Alaskans get dividends during bad economy

ANCHORAGE, Ala., Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Citizens qualified to receive dividends from Alaska's Permanent Fund will receive dividends of more than $1,300 this autumn, state officials said.

The Anchorage Daily News reported that even though the $32 billion oil profits savings account lost $2.5 billion in the last fiscal year, the five-year dividend program will temper the effect of the losses for Alaskans.

The five-year program means the dividend is calculated on the average of the fund's profits during the preceding five years.

This is because last year's losses followed several years of unprecedented gains, said Laura Achee, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. spokeswoman.

Approximately 657,000 Alaskans applied for the dividend this year. Essentially, anyone not convicted of a crime is eligible.

The Permanent Fund Dividend Division will dispense around $850 million in dividends in October, said Debbie Bitney, director of the state agency

Last year, Alaskans received the largest dividend checks since the state began its program in 1982. The amount was supplemented by a $1,200 resource rebate, based on the state's oil-tax surplus and initiated by former Gov. Sarah Palin.